The Cavs celebrate after punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Cleveland Cavaliers became the second team to advance in the NBA playoffs with their 138-83 win over the Miami Heat on Monday, joining fellow No. 1 seed in the Oklahoma City Thunder as the only teams in their respective conferences to punch their ticket to the next round thus far. The 55-point win is the fourth-largest margin of victory in playoff history, and the Cavs set a new franchise playoff record for points in a game with 138.
Donovan Mitchell led six Cavs who scored in double figures with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting (4-8 3PT). De’Andre Hunter, Cleveland’s prized trade deadline acquisition in February, erupted for 19 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3PT) in 21 minutes as a reserve. After going scoreless in 16 minutes in Game 1, Hunter responded by averaging 17.3 points in 24.3 minutes on shooting splits of 55.2% FG / 61.5% 3PT / 92.3% FT in Games 2 through 4.
Jarrett Allen, one of only 11 players to suit up for all 82 games during the regular season, was a two-way force all series long. His presence on both ends of the floor allows coach Kenny Atkinson and his squad the ability to beat teams in a multitude of ways, something the 2023-24 Cavs lacked in the postseason because of Allen’s rib injury that forced him to miss the final eight contests.
‘The Fro’, a fan-favorite in Cleveland, etched his name in the record books with 10+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ steals in the first half on Monday night. He became the first player since the play-by-play era (1997-98) to put up that stat line in a single half in NBA playoff history. Allen set the tone early, taking the first of his six steals for a breakaway one-handed jam on the opening possession of the game. He is now one of just four players to record six steals in a half of a playoff game, joining Gilbert Arenas (2005), Baron Davis (2002), and Allen Iverson (1999). He finished with 14 points (5-5 FG, 4-4 FT) and 12 rebounds while securing a game-best +42 plus-minus in only 25 minutes, tying Kevin Love for the second-best plus-minus in a Cavs’ playoff game.
Cleveland has seven players averaging double figures in scoring this postseason, led by Mitchell (23.8 PPG) and Darius Garland (24.0 PPG), who sat out Games 3 and 4 with a toe sprain. Evan Mobley, the 2024-25 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Ty Jerome, a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year award, both averaged 16.3 points while shooting better than 52% from the field and 47% from behind the arc.
Max Strus, the former Heat forward who never seems to stop moving, has been an invaluable connector for Cleveland’s top-ranked offense in the playoffs (136.2). The sixth-year undrafted vet is off to a blistering start through four outings, posting career-best numbers in playoff scoring (11.0), field goal (46.9) and three-point percentage (46.2) while playing a career-low 25 minutes a night.
But that’s not the only aspect of Strus’ game that has helped spark this young, hungry Cavs team. According to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com, Strus sent a text message to his guys the night before Game 4: “Take care of business so we can get some rest until the next round. Take advantage. Take all the advantages we can get.”
Strus also spent the most time defending Heat All-Star guard Tyler Herro, with whom he played three seasons from 2020-21 to 2022-23 in Miami. After scoring 21 and 33 in the first two contests in Cleveland, Herro combined for just 17 points on 6-for-23 shooting (26.1%) from the field and 2-for-12 (16.7%) from distance in Games 3 and 4.
Bam Adebayo, a three-time All-Star coming off a Gold Medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics last summer, was held mostly in check by Allen and Mobley. Bam had to fight tooth and nail for every bucket, and he struggled to the tune of 17.5 points on 43.8% shooting in 38.4 minutes per game. Mobley limited Adebayo to 24 total points on 9-of-24 shooting as the primary defender over the course of the series.
When it was all said and done, the Cavs swept the Heat with an average margin of victory of 30.5 points to earn the most lopsided series win in NBA playoff history. Cleveland shot a scorching-hot 44.0 percent from three to lead all teams in the Playoffs, sinking 22 3s in Games 2 and 4. They tied the record for most threes ever in a four-game playoff series with 77 makes, joining the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.
All in all, this Cavs team is simply different than in years past. They’re deep, talented, focused, incredibly hungry and they can win in a variety of ways. Now they’ll get to rest until Saturday at the earliest while they wait for either the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
